Day 2 of Going Raw for 28 days!

Last week, my good sister-in-law, Sharon, initiated a Raw Food Detox Support Group for friends and family interested in going on a 28-day raw food cleanse beginning April 1st. I immediately jumped at the idea of joining! April is the perfect time to rid the body of toxins accumulated over the winter months. After all, it is at this time that I (normally) decide to de-clutter closets and dust those often neglected shelves in the house. Why not do the same for my body?

The program we have chosen is Natasha Kyssa’s “SimplyRaw Detox”. In her book, “The SimplyRaw Living Foods Detox Manual”, Natasha sums up nicely our reasons for choosing this program:

“The program isn’t as restrictive as fasting and is easy to maintain during a regular working schedule. Unlike many other programs, you won’t feel deprived or go hungry, and the abundance of vitamins, minerals, and enzymes will supply the body with the daily nutrients and energy that is necessary for optimum health.”

No supplements or pills are required, just clean “live” food.

This will be my third time on this program. The last two times I did feel the need on some days to tailor the program to fit my busy schedule. On those days, I kept my meals clean, but indulged in cooked quinoa or steamed veggies where all my meals were to be 100 per cent raw. I didn’t beat myself up over it, as this is actually something Natasha suggests for those not ready to go all the way with program. At the end of the program, I still received positive results and it allowed me to continue my healthy eating habits of adding more raw foods to my diet long after the 28 days.

This time, I plan to follow the program 100 per cent! I have a wonderful group of gals (41 of us in total!) who will be there for meal ideas, suggestions and support. I also have a very encouraging family who enjoy tasting my raw goodies and enjoy sharing a raw meal with me at the dinner table.

This is the end of day 2 and I wanted to share with you my food diary for the day.

When I woke up this morning, I did not reach for the coffee carafe. Instead, I had a 2 oz. shotof wheatgrass juice then sipped on a mug of Fire Water. I love telling the kids that I am sipping on Fire Water (since they assume I am the Dragon Lady on most days). I followed my water with one organic apple and ate a piece of Fruit and Nut Manna Bread as my mid-morning snack.

NATASHA’S FIRE WATER

10 oz. purified water (warm)

1/2 lemon, juiced

a sprinkle of cayenne pepper

For lunch, my husband and I sat down to a big plate of mixed greens and sunflower sprouts topped with shredded carrot, chopped green onion, chopped cucumber, a sprinkle of hemp seeds, and a little lemon vinaigrette. Our salad was accompanied by a large blueberry milkshake. In the mid-afternoon, I had another wheatgrass shot and 1 medium peeled carrot.

LEMON VINAIGRETTE FOR MIXED GREENS

3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

4 tablespoons lemon juice

1 garlic, minced

Stir together with a fork and pour desired amount over salad. This dressing recipe does make more than enough for two large salads.

BLUEBERRY MILKSHAKE

2 cups purified water

2 bananas, peeled

1/2 cup frozen blueberries

1 small handful of kale leaves

3 dates, pitted

1/4 cup hemp seeds, soaked (you can use sunflower seeds too)

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

sprinkle nutmeg

Blend all ingredients until smooth and serve.

For dinner, I made a plate of zucchini noodles with my spiral slicer and steamed a pot of organic broccoli. You can see a photo of this slicer in action here. I topped my zucchini noodles with Ani Phyo’s Pesto. I love this recipe. Instead of olive oil and cheese, an avocado, nutritional yeast, and miso are added for an out-of-this-world creamy and flavourful topping for any pasta or wrap.

* I doubled this recipe for a family of 4. Chop nuts in a food processor. Add remaining ingredients and process to mix well. Add heaping tablespoons of pesto to noodles and stir.

Our 9 year-old daughter has a hard time with zucchini noodles. She loved the pesto with some brown rice penne noodles, though! This was her plate before she went off to dance class earlier this evening.

The next couple of days I am scheduled to teach in an elementary school where nuts are not permitted. I plan on taking a few pieces of rustic sweet onion flatbread and kale chips all now in my dehydrator. I will also take along another good helping of mixed greens, raw veggies, fresh fruit, some herbal tea and lots of water, of course.

I can’t wait for this month to progress! I will soon feel lighter on my feet and have an exuberant amount of energy. I also look forward to trading in the sweats for a good pair skinny jeans. Yay! 🙂

Thank you and all the best to you, too, this “juicing/smoothie” week! A week every month is a good idea. I’m sending my husband out today for collards so I can make some wraps with seed cheese for dinner. Kelp noodles tomorrow!

This all looks delicious!
I am going to make the smoothie tomorrow morning. How long do you soak your hemp seeds for? Overnight? Or a minimum of 4 hours?
The pesto looks incredible!
I am intrigued by Fire Water. I know the benefits of lemon in warm water, what does the cayenne pepper do?

Hi Ally – Hope you had a chance to make this delicious smoothie! I soaked my hemp seeds in my vita mix with the water as I was preparing other things, so not for long – maybe 30 minutes. But now, I’m not sure why. Hemp seeds do not need soaking. However, it’s best to soak seeds and nuts, so I think I was thinking of those things.

Oh I am a big fan of cayenne pepper too – usually in my curries! But I’m game. Tomorrow morning, I will have a fire water before I have my smoothie.
Yes, we had the smoothie yesterday. It is the first time I have had cinnamon in a smoothie. It was yummy. I soaked our hemp seeds for an hour or so. I was grateful that the recipe only required a handful of kale, as that is all I had left.